Just Another Disaster
by Singing Violin
Summary: Takes place shortly after The Equinox. Voyager's in trouble, and the captain's injured.


Title: Just Another Disaster  
Series: Star Trek: Voyager  
Author: Singing Violin  
Rating: K  
Keywords: Janeway/Chakotay UST  
Summary: Takes place shortly after "The Equinox." Voyager's in trouble, and Captain Janeway is injured.  
Disclaimer: TPTB own them, but they didn't do what I wanted with them, so I'm borrowing them for a bit. I'll give them back when I'm done.  
Feedback: Yes please.  
Archiving: Anywhere.

The bridge glowed each time the Red Alert flashed, and through the dust, the red lights eerily illuminated the haggard captain and her first officer.

Janeway tapped her communicator. "Bridge to Engineering. The enemy's been destroyed. We're entering the nebula. B'Elanna, what's your status?"

"I'm a little bit busy right now, Captain … if I don't get things under control, we might have a core breach. I'll update you in a …"

Suddenly the ship lurched and the link went dead. Janeway tried again. "B'Elanna? What's going on?"

There was no answer.

The captain glanced around the bridge and motioned to the ensign on the top level. "Harry, you're with me." Then, looking at her first officer, "Commander, you have the bridge."

Quickly, the pair entered the turbolift, but a few seconds after they'd begun their ride to Engineering, the ship lurched again and the turbolift halted. The captain looked at the young officer next to her, who seemed to be holding up well. She had to constantly remind herself that he wasn't a cadet anymore; he'd been so green, innocent, and eager when he came aboard _Voyager_ so many years ago. He was still eager, but he'd matured, although the captain couldn't help being protective of the closest thing she had to a son. "Well, Harry, I guess it's the Jefferies tubes for us." She attempted a smile to reassure him, and he nodded.

She looked up at the hatch above them, and he took the hint and offered his hands for her to step up on. Grabbing the hatch and moving it aside, she climbed up, then offered her hand for Ensign Kim.

They'd traveled quite a bit before the ship shook violently, and the captain lost her grip and fell. Barely holding on himself, Harry couldn't catch her.

Quickly, he descended to where she'd fallen. She was bleeding from a head wound and her body was twisted grotesquely. For a moment, Harry panicked, thinking she was dead, but then she looked up at him and smiled. "I'm all right, Ensign. You go on. You need to get to Engineering, prevent the core breach."

Obviously she was unaware of how seriously she was hurt. "Captain, you're injured." He ran the tricorder over her and found she had a broken leg and arm, fractured ribs, a punctured lung, and a concussion. If she didn't get medical help soon … she might die. He shuddered at the thought. "I have to get you to Sickbay."

The ship shook again.

"There's no time … go … that's an order."

Harry frowned. There was no way he was leaving Captain Janeway like this. He tapped his communicator, "Kim to Sickbay." No response. "Kim to Engineering." No response. "Kim to Bridge." Nothing. Communications must be down.

He looked up, contemplating how he could get her out. After a few moments, he reluctantly concluded there was no way. Especially with so many systems down, it was likely the doors would have to be pried open ... and he probably couldn't carry her without injuring her further.

He looked down at her and found her eyes had closed. He wasn't a trained medic like Tom, but he knew that letting a concussion patient fall asleep could be fatal. "Hey … Captain … wake up." He shook her as gently as he could.

"Harry?" she queried sleepily. She was fading fast. At least that meant she'd probably forgotten where they'd been going and why, so she probably wouldn't remember that he'd disobeyed an order to stay with her.

Her eyelids drooped again, and he realized he had to think fast. "Captain, did I ever tell you about Captain Proton's triumph over Doctor Evilus?"

"Was Queen Arachnia involved?" the captain asked.

Harry smiled. This might work, for a little while at least. "Yeah … but nobody knew which side she was on for a long time. You see, she'd helped Doctor Evilus before, because Evilus saved her brother from Chaotica …"

Meanwhile, Commander Chakotay was worried. He hadn't heard from either the captain or Engineering for twenty minutes, and by the constant lurching of the ship, it was clear that whatever problem they were having was only getting worse.

"Computer, location of Captain Janeway," he ordered.

"Unable to comply," answered the disembodied voice.

"Damn," he muttered.

Since communications were down, it was possible the only people left alive were on the bridge. He nodded at the worried-looking pilot below him. "Tom, think you can take care of the bridge for a bit?"

"Aye aye, Sir," the lieutenant responded.

Noticing that the turbolift was stuck, the commander headed straight for the Jefferies tube. Opening a hatch, he crawled inside and began scanning for life signs as he followed the captain's probable route.

Finally, his search was gratified as he read two life signs ahead and crawled towards them.

"… and that was when Captain Proton saw it … the Ultimato Robot, poised to …"

He stopped when he heard the clanking of boots on metal. Instinctively, he reached for his phaser, but breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the familiar form of Commander Chakotay. "Commander, I am so glad to see you!" he exclaimed. Worriedly, he added, "The captain's injured."

Chakotay nodded, looking at the discouraging readings on his tricorder. He swallowed before speaking. "I'll stay with her. Harry, you need to go find the others." The ensign nodded and turned to leave.

The captain grabbed the leg of his uniform with her good arm. "Wait … what happened?"

"You're injured, Captain," Harry repeated.

"No, I mean … to Captain Proton," she asked.

A mischievous gleam passed over the young man's face. "I'll tell you the rest of the story later, Captain. You ordered me to go to Engineering; I have to go now."

She nodded hesitantly, clearly not remembering having given the aforementioned order.

When Harry was out of earshot, Chakotay whispered to the captain, "It's just you and me, now, Kathryn." He sat, gently lifting her head so that her left ear rested against his right shoulder. He wrapped his arms protectively around her.

She coughed, spitting up a bit of blood onto his uniform. He clasped her tighter.

"You took away my entertainment, Chakotay," she accused. "You'd better …" She gasped slightly, then recovered, "tell me a story. No angry warriors, and …" She took a few breaths, "leave Captain Proton … Harry will tell me later."

"Okay." Chakotay thought for a few moments, then began, "Once upon a time, there was a warrior princess who …"

"No angry warriors," the captain repeated, coughing again.

"Ssh, Kathryn," he soothed, "okay, I'll think of something else."

"No," she said.

"No?" he asked.

"My turn," she said. He wondered what she was up to. Her good arm flailed, attempting to find his shoulder. He grabbed her hand and held it.

"I'm sorry, Chakotay."

That had come out of nowhere. He was worried. "Kathryn, there's nothing to be sorry about; you'll be okay."

"No," she said again.

"I'm not going to let you die, Kathryn," he promised.

"I mean, not sorry about now," she said. "Sorry about before. Equinox. You. Duty. Relieved." He frowned at the effort with which she was creating each word.

"Oh," he conceded. "It's all right. I've forgiven you already."

A tear rolled down her cheek. "Not myself," she breathed.

He forced himself to smile at her, "No, you weren't. But it's okay, you didn't cross the line. Everything's all right now."

"No. Not all right. Captain's dead," she argued.

This was really not the place and time to be having this discussion, Chakotay thought. But she seemed to want to talk, and it was as good a way as any of keeping her awake, and therefore alive. "Captain Ransom disobeyed your orders," he said. "You had no way to save him."

"No," she said once again. "Not Ransom."

A chill went down his spine. If she wasn't talking about Ransom, there was only one captain she could be talking about.

"I told you, Kathryn," he reiterated, trying his best to keep the panic out of his voice as he stroked her back, more to comfort himself than to comfort her. "I'm not going to let you die."

She looked up at him pleadingly, then made a sour face and turned away from him, expelling brown liquid onto the deck. He gulped back his disgust and fear, and supported her as she retched. He wondered when the last time she'd ingested anything other than coffee was, and wished he had some water to offer her to prevent dehydration.

When she was done, she fell back against him, exhausted. "Sorry."

"It's okay," he reassured her. "Maybe I should tell you that story now?"

"Later, Commander. On duty."

"I don't think you're medically fit for duty right now, Captain."

Suddenly she was crying. She turned and buried her face in his uniform. He rubbed her back. "I'm sorry, Kathryn, I'm so sorry."

She mumbled something that he couldn't hear. "What?" he asked.

"Croutons," she mumbled again.

She was delirious. "Croutons?" he repeated.

"Forgot them," she cried.

Neelix's party. They'd never made it. The ship had been attacked, and now they were stuck in a Jefferies tube, the captain hovering on the edge of life and death, and all she could think about was forgetting the croutons she'd promised to bring. If he hadn't been so worried, he would have laughed.

"It's okay, Kathryn, I didn't bring the salad either."

She looked up at him with watery eyes, and her nose wrinkled. "Smells … awful."

"You were sick," he explained.

"Oh," she acknowledged. "Don't remember."

Chakotay would have given anything for a medkit right now. He had to fight hard to hold back the tears stinging at his eyes. He eased them away from the puddle, trying not to disturb her broken limbs.

"Tired," she said, and snuggled into him.

_How ironic_, he thought to himself, _the one time she wants to fall asleep in my arms and I can't let her_.

"I know you're tired, but you can't sleep just yet," he said.

"Robot?" she queried.

"What Robot?" he asked.

"Something … Ultimato … Harry?"

She was getting less and less coherent by the minute. He silently prayed for someone to get the ship working again … at least enough to perform an emergency transport to Sickbay. "It's Chakotay, Kathryn. Harry went to fix the ship. If you can hold on a while, I'm sure he'll tell you what happened to the robot."

She began to cough, and he cautiously turned her away in case she was going to be sick again, but after a weak fit, she collapsed back against him, spent. "Chakotay," she called.

"I'm here," he said. He patted her arm. "I've got you."

She shook her head. "Not going to make it. You. To Engineering."

"You have to survive, Kathryn Janeway. That's an order," he stated.

"Can't order me. I outrank you," she insisted.

_At least she still realizes that_, he thought. "Good. I was just testing you."

The hint of a smile passed over her lips, but her face fell again. "Not going to make it. Can't hold on."

He squeezed his eyes shut and willed the panic out of his body. "Yes, you can." he urged, "We'll be rescued, you'll see. You'll be burning dinner for us tomorrow night."

"Chakotay," she repeated.

"Yes?" he asked. _This is good_, he told himself. _Keep her occupied, just a little longer_.

"Gotta tell you."

"Gotta tell me what, Kathryn?"

She started to cry again. "Ssh," he cooed, "it's okay. You can tell me anything you want."

"I can't … Chakotay. Trying to hold on. Won't last. Have to know. Captain."

"No, Kathryn … you're still the captain; I'm not going to let you die." _Please don't die_, he thought to himself, _I don't want to be Captain, especially not while grieving for you_.

"Chakotay." Her arm flailed in the air again, and reached his cheek. "Sorry. Really am. Love you." Her hand fell down again, and her head lolled against his chest.

He gulped, trying to think of a reply, but while he was rendered speechless, she'd lost consciousness.

"No!" he cried, tears beginning to fall. "Not again!" But she was still breathing; she was just unconscious. He rocked her in his arms, back and forth, willing her to wake up, but it was no use.

He sobbed for several minutes, finally letting out the emotions he'd tried so valiantly to hide for her sake. His quiet admission, "I love you too," went unheard by the intended recipient.

Finally, his communicator beeped. "Torres to Chakotay."

The commander took a deep breath and sighed with relief, still holding the captain tightly in his arms. "I'm here," he answered, "with the captain. She's hurt."

"I know," B'Elanna answered, "Harry told us."

It was a relief to know that Harry had found his way there. Obviously they were well on their way to making repairs. "Do you have transporters yet, B'Elanna?" Chakotay asked.

"No, Commander, but they should be working in about ten minutes."

"Please hurry," he pled.

The chief engineer exchanged worried glances with Ensign Kim as they got back to work. At least the captain was still alive, but it sounded like she wouldn't be for long.

It took them seven minutes to route power to the transporter. "Torres to Chakotay, we have transporters."

He wasted no time. "Beam the captain and me directly to Sickbay," he ordered.

"Aye, sir," B'Elanna answered.

As soon as they materialized, Chakotay lifted the captain up and gently placed her onto a biobed, his eyes still moist with unshed tears.

The EMH entered. "Please state the nature of the … oh," said the doctor, and began working on the captain. After a few minutes, he spoke again. "Commander, you may go. This will take a while, and I'm sure you're needed elsewhere."

"No," said Chakotay. "I'm not leaving her alone."

"She's not alone, Commander. She's in my very capable hands, if I do say so myself," he boasted, all the while scurrying about with hyposprays and other instruments.

Chakotay gave the doctor a stern look that clearly stated, _don't mess with me right now_.

The doctor rolled his eyes but conceded. "Very well, Commander…just try to stay out of my way."

The commander stroked the captain's forehead, pushing tangled locks of hair off of her eyes. _Did you mean what you said, Kathryn?_ he wondered. _About loving me? Or was that just your way of saying goodbye?_

**Several hours later.**

Captain Janeway awoke in sickbay. Noting the dull grey ceiling, she concluded that she must have survived, and silently thanked whatever spirits might be guiding her fate. Slowly, she became aware of a heaviness on her chest, and, looking down, realized that it was Chakotay's head. She began to laugh, but quickly stopped and cried out as pain shot through her abdomen.

In an instant, Chakotay was awake and the doctor was at her side. "Take it easy, Captain," the doctor admonished. "You've had quite a spill; you're still healing."

Chakotay looked up at the doctor. "Can you give us a minute, please?"

The doctor looked hurt, but he obediently gave the order to deactivate his program.

Chakotay held the captain's hand in both of his, and looked at her with deep concern, caressing her hand with his fingers. "How are you?" he asked, cautiously.

"Well, I just found out that laughing doesn't agree with me right now," she stated.

"I'll try not to be too funny," he promised, smiling down at her. She smiled back.

"What do you remember?" he asked.

She thought for a moment. "Falling … and then Harry telling me a story about Captain Proton and some robot."

"Ultimato," Chakotay supplied.

She looked at him, surprised. "I guess he's told you that story too. Maybe then you can tell me how it ends; I can't seem to remember."

Chakotay couldn't seem to stop smiling. "I'll let Harry do the honors when you're feeling a bit better. Do you remember anything else?"

She frowned. "Not much … bits and pieces, I guess. Something about croutons?"

He patted her hand and changed the subject, convinced that she didn't remember what she'd said to him. _Maybe it's best this way_. "I'm glad to have you back."

"You didn't think I'd let you become Captain, did you?" she joked.

"Never," he responded playfully. _If she'd only known how scared I was when she seemed to have given up_.

"I'm tired, Chakotay. Everything hurts. I need to sleep."

He nodded. "I'll be right here."

As she drifted off, she mumbled something that he couldn't quite make out, but he could have sworn he heard her say, "Love you."

**THE END**


End file.
